Switchman&#39;s lantern



Oct. 18, 1927.

'H. c; SYLVESTER SWITCHMAN S LANTERN Filed Au 24.. 1925 2 Sheets-Shegt 1yea Q ado/Imago O 19 j 1646328 Oct H. c. SYLVESTER SWITCHMANS LANTERNFiled Auz. 24, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2' Patented Oct. 18, 1927.

} UNITED STATES PATENT or ice;

HOWARD C. SYLVESTER, OF BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA.

swrcronmans LANTERN.

Application filed August24, 1925,- serial No. 52,117.

My invention relates to improvements in lanterns such as those used byswitch-men, and my object is to provide a generally'improvedan'dsimplified lantern of this type which, although being ratherinexpensive, is

exceptionally rigid, efficient and desirable.

With the foregoing in view, the invention resides in vthe novel subjectmatter herein after described and claimed,the description beingsupplemented by the accompanying drawings;

, Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a lantern constructed inaccordance with my invention Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional View asindicated by line 22 of Fig. 1.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the frame structure and base.

Figure 4; is a side elevation of the burnercarrying oilpot removed fromthe remainder of the lantern.

In the drawings above briefly described, the numeral 1 designates anannular base wall whose upper end receives the lower end of a globe 2,said wall being formed near its upper end with airinlet perforations 3,

while at its lower end, said wall is provided with internal screwthreads 4: which are preferably formed on aseparate piece of metalsoldered or otherwise secured to the metal of which the'wall 1 is formedA plurality of arched wires 5 have their lower ends suitably secured at6 to the upper portion' of the wall 1, said arched wires-havinghorizontally disposed crown bars 7 which are located on a circularlineand contact with a radially split top ring 8. This ring is secured uponthe crown bars 7 preferably by wire wrappings 9 and solder, and the ends10 of the ring are disposed in hori- 1 zontally spaced relation upon oneof said crown bars. The portion of this bar, be-

tween the ends 10, is surrounded by a sleeve 11 which is carried by abase flange 12 of a lantern top or cap 13, said sleeve and the containedcrown bar forming a very unique, rigid and effective hing-e forconnecting the cap or the like 13 with the frame structure of'thelantern. Any suitable'latch 12 may be employed. to engage the ring 8 andhold the cap or the like 13 in its proper operative relation with theother parts of the device.

The vertical leg portion-s of the arch-ed wires""5' are preferablysecured 'to a wire ring let which not only braces them, but

.ing handles are used,

the ope'n'upper ends of a pair of vertically elongated, downwardlytapered, metal sleeves 19 whlch surround the leg portion-s 20 of thehandle and are soldered or otherwise dica'ted at 21; By employingthe'construction disclosed, in the formationof the handle and inattaching it to the frame of the lantern, the latter-may be muchmorereadily handled than when other forms ofcarry- The cap 13, above brieflymentioned, includes a vertical, annular-side wall 22 whose upper portionis perforated as at 23, and a metal cap 2 1 is secured to' the upperedge of this wall. Within the confines of the wall 22 and below theperforation 23, is a horizontal circular plate 25 having a downwardlyextending annular flange 26 which engages the upper end of the globe 2.The

plate 25 is formed with vent' openings 27,

and with outwardly inclined baffles 28 at the inner edges of theseopenings, portions of said plate being preferably stamped upwardly tosimultaneously form said openings 7 27 and bafiies 28-. A stem 29 isrigidly secured to the cap 24 and projects downwardly therefrom throughan opening 30 in the plate 25, anda nut 31 is threaded on said stem,under saidplate, to limit the downward movement of thelatter under-theinfluence of a coiled spring 32,-when the cap 13 is opened to remove theglobe 2. When the cap is closed, the flange26engages the globe and thespring 32 is compressed to retain said flange in tight contact-with saidglobe. m T 1. j

The cap construction just described is very advantageous, as it not onlypermits proper burning of the lantern when in use,

but whensaid cap is swung open and the nut 31 is removed, all internalparts of the cap may readily be removed for. cleaning, furthermore bythreading the stem 29 and 70 secured thereto 'at their lower ends, asin- I providing the nut 31 the plate 25 and its flange 26 maybe loweredor adjusted to engage short globes.

The burner B may be of any desired construction, and it is carried bythe top 330i? a fuel pot This pot is provided with an annular side wallwhose lower portion 35' is outwardly offset from its uppervportion 36 toprovide an externalledge '37 and also to enlarge thelower portion ofsaid pot, so that it will" contaln an unusually large grip for use whenremoving the entire fuel pot from the remainder of the lantern, or whenre-applyingthis unit ot the device. It will beseen that any oil or otherfuel running down the sides otthe pot, from the burner B will be caughtin the trough 3738, and each time the fuel pot is removed for refillingor wiclr trimming, this trough may be easily cleaned. Thus, there is nodanger of any oil finding its way to the outer side of the lantern,causing dust to accumulate and .giving au unsightly appearance. I

In the preferred :torm of construction, the base flange ll) is formed bythe peripheral portion or a base plate 41, and thebody portion ofthisplate fOIlllSillO bottom for the oil pot St. The lower portion otthe pot wall and the flange may well be formed'from a continuous wall ofsheet metal, and the upper portion is preitcrabl y in thetorm of asmaller wall with its lower end bent outwardly toprovide the ledge 37,

. the latterbeing soldered'rn otherwise se- CTI cured to the wallAlso,thethreads 39 are preferably prov. ed upon a separate sheet metalring and; the latter suitably euredtothe muss; I I

,It will be seen from the foregoing that I have provided a simple andinexpensive switchinaifs lantern, yet one 'whiclris ett'- ficient andvery desirable, and asexcellent results have been obtained from the constructionshown, it is preferably followed However, withinthe scope ofthe invention as claimed, modifications may be made.

I claim:

1. A lantern com arisin a globe-continua ing frame having a circularwall at its upper end and a cap secured to said wall, a horizontalplatewithin' the confines of said wall and having a downwardlyprojecting globe holding flange, the portion of the wall above saidplate being perforated, said plate neeasas having a plurality of heatescape openings spaced around its center and being provided at the inneredges of said openings with outwardly inclined battles, a threaded stemprojecting rigidly downward from the center of the aforesaid cap andpassing through an opening in said plate, a spring forurging said platedownwardly, and a nut threadedremovably on said stem under said plate topermit the same to be lowered and to limit its downward movement whenthe globe is removed from the lantern.

2. Alanterncomprising a globe-containing frame having an annular wallat'its lower end provided with internal screw threads, andabrn'ner-carrying fuel pot hav ing a drip collecting gutter around itslower portion and integral an outstanding base flange, the major portionof'said pot and the gutter of the latter being within the confines ot'the aforesaid wall, said pot being provided with external screw threadsre movably engagedwith the threads of said wall, the base flange 01 saidpot forming a base for the entire 'lantern'and constituting a hand gripfor. unthreading the pot from the wall. i

i 3, A, lantern oil pot having an annular sit e wall whose lower portionis outwardly otlset from its upper portion to increase the capacity ofthe lower portion of the pot and to form an external ledge, and anannular flange rising from the outer edge oisaid ledge to form therewitha drip collecting trough. V

t. A lantern oil pot comprising a base plate, an annular wall risingtherefrom and having a liquid-tight connection therewith, a smallerannular wall. spaced inwardly from the upper portion ofthefirstnamedwall and spaced upwardly'froinsaid base plate, the lower end of saidsmaller waillha'vi'ng an on tstanding annular flange secured to thefirst named wall below the upper edge of they latter, and aburner-carrying top plate sccured to said smaller wal :5. A lanterncomprising a base, a plural ity of arched wires secured at their lowerends to said baseand having horizontal lon gitudinally curred crownbarsdisposed on. a circular line, aradiallysplit top i'iugsecured tosaid crown bars and having its ends spaced apart upouone ofsaid crownbars, a top member having a hinge sleeve surrounding said one crownbarbetween the ends of said split top ring, a'latcli for detachablyconnecting. said top member with the ring, and an arched handleconnected at its endsto diametrically opposed leg portions ofsaidarchedwire. y i

In testimony whereof I have hereunto attired my signature.

HOWA D c. SYLVESTERJ

